


Coping Mechanism

by ItsaVikingThing



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Canon for Shannon, F/F, Post Book 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-05-23 18:27:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14939538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsaVikingThing/pseuds/ItsaVikingThing
Summary: After Korra is poisoned by Zaheer, Asami becomes one her carers while she builds the strength she needs to return to the South Pole. Asami's dreading the day that Korra leaves, knowing she won't be going with her this time...





	Coping Mechanism

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Writerleft](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writerleft/gifts).



> So what happened was, the Amazing [TheWillowTree](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWillowTree) asked me (and many others) to write fics for our friend, [Writerleft](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writerleft)
> 
> And the willowtree set up a release schedule. And...I posted mine on the 5th, when I was supposed to go on the 15th.
> 
> Oops.
> 
> So here's one for the 15th, because I promised one for today, and I'd hate not to deliver.
> 
> The prompt for this fic came from [TheWillowTree](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWillowTree), too. Did you know she's also a writer? And that she's an amazing and lovely person? Well, she is, so why not check out some of her fics, too!

The light is wrong.

That's the first thing that Asami notices when she wakes up. It's enough to make her sit bolt upright, force her eyes wide open, and tense her muscles. She slowly relaxes when she realises that she's in her room at the Sato Estate. The light isn't _wrong_ , it's just coming from a different angle, because the window in this room faces east, unlike the room she's been using for the past few weeks on Air Temple Island.

Asami sighs. "Idiot. Why did I spend the night here? Korra's going to need me."

Since Korra was poisoned and almost...killed by Zaheer, she's been in need of near constant physical assistance. The wounds to her body have left her unable to walk, the wounds to her spirit...Korra used to have the brightest, bluest eyes Asami had ever seen. She had the most infectious, joyous grin. But now...

Asami clenches her teeth. "That isn't helping anyone, Asami. Move."

She gets out of bed, works through some stretches, and remembers just before she rings for her butler that she doesn't have a butler at the moment. She gave him time off while she was helping to take care of Korra; other than the groundskeeper, the estate is without staff of any kind.

Asami shrugs. She puts on her robe and goes to the kitchen, trying to get her yawning under control. She wonders if there's even any food in the place. She isn't hungry, particularly, but she knows it's going to be a long day, and she'll need her strength. Korra isn't comfortable accepting help from just anyone. Asami's one of the few people she trusts with her more...personal needs.

Asami starts rooting through cupboards, looking for anything that might make a suitable meal. As she does, she thinks about Korra's trust in her, and the burden of that responsibility. Asami takes Korra's needs seriously, more seriously than she does the running of Future Industries at the moment, but if anything Asami doesn't feel burdened. She feels...grateful that at Korra's lowest moments, Asami can be there for her. That Korra _lets_ her be there. 

Asami's found stability in the routines she and Korra have built over the last few weeks. The shocking extent of Korra's injuries, the trauma the Red Lotus inflicted on her closest friend...Asami isn't sure how she'd be coping right now, if she couldn't offer some kind of practical assistance.

Two things give her pause. The first is that, after deciding to check the larder on a whim, she finds it isn't empty. There isn't a great deal there, but there is a loaf of bread, fresh butter, a selection of fruit...more than enough for breakfast. Which is...odd, and rouses a sense of unease in Asami's still sleepy mind.

But that discordant note is lost to the greater concern: the ease with which Korra has become her closest friend. Mere months ago, they'd had a talk where they decided to acknowledge their awkward history, and to move past it. Back then, the worst thing between them was Mako, the man they'd both dated. Moving past _that_ had been easy. Building a rapport with Korra had been easy. Opening up to her, trusting her, being her friend had been...easy.

Easier than anything Asami had ever done before.

Asami makes herself a simple breakfast and eats it standing up at the kitchen counter while the kettle for her tea boils.

Korra is the Avatar. That fact makes her unique, but it isn't the only thing that does. It makes her important, in senses both abstract and concrete, but it isn't even close to being the most important thing about her to Asami. Korra's brave, and funny, and kind, and foolish, and stubborn, and impulsive, and _alive_.

And she's still there, Asami knows, under all the pain Zaheer's put her through. She's still fighting, even if it's from the confines of her bed, even if she's fighting against her own body. Asami isn't so naive as to think that Korra will come through this experience unchanged. She isn't so selfish as to hope to get the Korra she knew back. She just wants to keep getting to know Korra better, no matter how hard that might be, no matter who Korra is becoming.

The alternative isn't too difficult to consider; it's impossible.

And what happens after Korra leaves for the South Pole...Asami intends to put off thinking about that until she has no other choice.

"I should pick up fresh flowers, today. Maybe fresh bedding?" Asami muses aloud, her voice still husky with sleep. She smiles. "I should _definitely_ get some more of Madame Li's steamed buns. She almost smiled a little, last time. So it's worth another argument with her physician."

Even a hint of a smile from Korra is a victory these days, and Asami relishes every win she and Korra can accomplish. It's going to be a long road to recovery for Korra, and Asami isn't going to be there for all of that journey. They've talked about _that_ , too. It makes sense for Korra to get help from Katara, the greatest healer alive. It makes sense that the Avatar, in her weakened state, should live in a remote and guarded compound.

It makes logical sense that Asami stays in Republic City, too. She's taken long enough away from her responsibilities at Future Industries. Her father's company has weathered storms aplenty in the last year, not least Hiroshi Sato's betrayal of his city, his people, and his daughter. Things have been improving, but the last few weeks, Asami's focus has been almost entirely on Korra. Her board will be happier once she's able to devote her full attention to running the company again.

When Korra's gone...

Asami pours water into a teapot, to allow her jasmine tea to steep. Her hand shakes, spilling water on the counter. She raises a hand, brushing at her face, where she finds more water, running from her eyes.

"Oh," Asami mutters, dully. "That's why everything's off. That's why I came...here last night." To the Sato Estate, a place that used to be home, and is now merely _here_. "Korra's gone," Asami admits to her empty kitchen. "She left yesterday. She's gone."

Korra is gone, and the reality of it tears a hole in Asami, enough to let some of the grief she carries inside her spill out. Because Korra had become a bigger and bigger part of her life, and caring for her these last few weeks hadn't been _easy_ , not easy at all, not for a single second.

No, it hadn't been easy. It had somehow become _everything_.

Grief is seductive, addictive, destructive. Asami gives into it until her tea has brewed, then she takes the teapot and a cup to the garage. It used to house a dozen Satomobiles and her Satoscooter, but she's sold all of her father's vehicles. Her own are still here, and it's been months since they've had a tuneup.

"Korra's coming back. She needs time right now. She doesn't need...me. And I have work to do. And she's _coming back_."

She goes to work, heedless of her robe and slippers, and sets about stripping, checking, oiling, cleaning, and reassembling the engines of both vehicles. She works through the morning, tossing her robe aside when she gets too warm, and when she's done, and covered in sweat and oil, she's calm enough for whatever's next.

Aloud she wonders, "What...is next?" For a moment, she slumps. Then she sucks in a breath, straightens her back, and says, "A bath. That's next."

And after a bath, she gets dressed. And after she gets dressed, she dons her riding leathers. And after that, she takes her Satoscooter and drives into the city. 

She arrives at Future Industries' head office in the early afternoon, late to start a working day, but she doesn't have any other next that can distract her from all the things she can't afford to think about.

Her secretary is a bright young man called Fong, who is young enough not to be able to hide his shock at her arrival, and bright enough not to comment on it directly. "Ms Sato! Good afternoon! Did you...need something? I mean, how can I assist you?"

Asami tries a smile on him, and when he doesn't flinch, she supposes it must be a decent smile. "Fong, I'd like you to help me get up to speed with everything. I'll be starting back full-time tomorrow. I'll just ease myself in today."

Fong blinks. "Ah...of course! Although, tomorrow is the weekend? And, ah, you weren't scheduled to return for another...but that just means I need to fix the calendar!" He smiles heroically. "And I can make myself available tomorrow, of course, if-'

Asami waves her hand. "No, no. I'll manage. If you could gather all the relevant paperwork today, though?"

"Yes, Ms Sato! Financial reports, updates from R&D, minutes of the last board meeting. I'll have those on your desk directly."

Asami nods. "That's a start, and I want those first. But I meant everything, Fong, so the next thing I want is...the paperwork on everything I've missed over the last few months."

"I...see." Fong swallows. "Um...Ms Sato?"

"Yes?"

"Does...this mean that the Avatar is...?"

Asami works her jaw, fighting the impulse to grit her teeth. "Yes, Fong. Avatar...the Avatar is...gone. And I'm back."

He bows his head. "I...everyone here wishes her well, Ms Sato. I know that the press hasn't exactly been...kind, but we'll miss her. She's...our Avatar."

Asami wants to scream 'She's more than that!' But Fong means well, and, she realises, he's grieving, too. "She'll be back, Fong. She's the best...uh, the _strongest_ person I know. She'll come back. We just need to...hold things together, until she does."

Fong stands up straight and meets her eye. "We will, " he says firmly. "I'll get you those papers now, Ms Sato, and a fresh pot of tea."

It takes less effort to smile at him this time. "Thank you, Fong."

Asami goes to her office, puts her things away, and is relieved to find a small stack of letters and reports already sitting on her desk. None of them are priority, but each and every one of them is something she can pour herself into, something she can use to shore up her defences against her grief.

She makes the mistake of looking out of her window, with its view of Yue Bay and the statue of Avatar Aang, and all the air hisses out of her lungs through her suddenly clenched teeth. "You bring her _back_ ," she snarls to the anything and the nothing that is listening.

Asami groans, and gives herself a few seconds. Then she closes the blinds over her window. She sits behind her desk, in the sudden gloom. She switches on her lamp, and reaches for the first report in the stack.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, folks!
> 
> And I hope you're having a good and restful day, Shannon! :)


End file.
